


Ascension

by Zharena



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Hiking, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:08:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29480460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zharena/pseuds/Zharena
Summary: Little post-canon piece about Lio and Galo going on a hike, written for the Embers Zine.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 1
Kudos: 32





	Ascension

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Embers zine](https://twitter.com/embersgalolio)! I struggled a bit on this one as the original concept I had ended up being much too long (as it usually goes with zine writing) and I had to rewrite the piece several times. It still feels a little underdeveloped in places, but ultimately I enjoyed playing around with nature and setting the mood of the piece. 
> 
> Fun fact: I was supposed to hike to the fire tower that inspired the piece during my vacation last year, but unfortunately my partner twisted his ankle the day before we were going to set out and we were unable to do it. Maybe one day!

The path was narrower than Galo remembered, its soil muddy from a recent rainstorm and crowded with emerald ferns that loomed over the dirt. Lio followed closely behind him, his eyes darting back down to the forest floor with every leafy finger that brushed against him. They spoke little, their attention focused on the voices of the forest, on the rustling of leaves and bubbly chatter of birds and the peace they brought in spite of the heavy, humid summer air.

About forty minutes in, Lio stopped for a drink of water. Despite the tree cover overhead, the heat had penetrated the leaves, and Lio’s face already had a light flush to it. It almost felt strange to see it – Lio, who had once had such an inclination towards the heat – wilting after just a bit of exertion under the summer light.  
“You all right?” 

“Just need to stop for a second,” Lio said, brushing the sweat-soaked bangs out of his eyes. “I haven’t hiked like this in a while. Even when I was on the road, we didn’t go too far into the mountains if we could help it.”

“Didn’t you also like, launch yourself into the air?”

“Yes, but most of the other Burnish couldn’t travel as far as I could.” He took another sip of his water and twisted the cap back on. “And it was easy for you to be spotted.”

Galo thought about the two children he saw at the cave the night he’d met Lio – really met Lio – for the first time, how their flames seemed to burn so much brighter than any star he’d ever seen. Had he been the only one to spot those flickers of teal and magenta that night? 

“Anyway,” Lio continued, “We tried to avoid going deep into the woods if we could. Our flames protected us from a lot, but they couldn’t protect us from everything. And the woods were especially dangerous.”

“Bears?”

“Try accidentally setting poison ivy on fire.”

“Ah. Yeah, that’s not too fun.”

“No, not at all.” Lio sighed and turned his attention ahead. Concerned, Galo placed a hand on his shoulder.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s just a steep hike.”

“We can stop whenever,” Galo said. “Or slow down if you want.”

“I don’t want to slow down, though.”

“I know, but it’s hot. You’re not going to go as fast as you normally would,” he encouraged. “And even if you could...you’d probably destroy your shins.”

That wouldn’t stop Lio from trying, of course. There was a sprite-footed sense of energy about him, one that told him to keep moving until he simply no longer could. He huffed as he passed Galo, his hand lingering behind for his partner to reach out to. Galo frowned, but laced his fingers between Lio’s.

“I’m serious. Take it slow – it’s only going to get steeper.”

“I know,” Lio said, looking back at him. He gave Galo a playful smirk, tightened his grip-

Oh no.

-and took off down the trail, dragging Galo along with him.

“Lio!”

For however many times Galo had been chided for his recklessness over the years, he was sure Lio had been scolded twice as many, and for however brave Galo thought he was, he still approached the unknown with relative hesitance and caution. Not Lio. Lio’s steps were light and airy as they wove through the forest, dodging errant tree limbs and puddles, their trek punctuated only by thin twigs snapping underfoot and his carefree laughter. No, Lio had been a blade smithed deep in the hearth of unknown; to deny it was to deny the essence of who he was.  
Lio’s sprint slowed as the soil dwindled and gave rise to ashen rocks, signaling the mountain’s ascent. After attempting to climb a few particularly steep stones, he stopped and gazed up, a hand cupped over his eyes to shield them from the sun.

“This is bigger than I thought it would be,” he admitted. 

“Told ya,” Galo said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. “Let’s stop for a few minutes.”

He made his way over to a thin, stringy tree off to the side; beneath it lay a set of shallow, stair-like stone ledges, their surfaces smoothed by centuries of weathering. Galo sat down on one of the lower steps with a sigh and leaned back, letting his long legs flop awkwardly to either side. Lio joined him a minute later, claiming a spot slightly further back that allowed him to stretch out over the length of the rock, the leaves above filtering out the strongest of the sun’s rays and leaving a warm, pleasant glow on his face that left him sleepy. With Galo at his side, he felt safe in a way he had never felt during those days of flame, and he found himself drifting off, wondering when he’d lost track of these new moments of tranquility, when they had become his normal and not an ephemeral fantasy.

He was woken up shortly after by Galo rustling through his backpack, digging around inside for the lunches they’d packed. Lio rubbed his eyes, groggy from his unplanned nap.  
“I thought we were saving those for when we reached the top.”

“Yeah, but I’m hungry now, so, time to improvise.” Galo unzipped the lunchbox inside and pulled out a lump covered in tin foil. He then tore the covering open and took one of the sandwich halves, taking a large bite of the pale meat and checking his watch. “We technically packed four so we can have a second lunch when we reach the top. Or breakfast in this case.”

Lio raised an eyebrow.

“Do I look like a hobbit to you?”

“Yes.” Grinning, he buried his face back in his food.

“Give me that sandwich,” Lio said, reaching for the other half resting in Galo’s lap, but his efforts proved futile when Galo turned away, throwing the rest of his lunch onto the rock beside him.

“No, get your own,” he teased.

That only seemed to further encourage Lio, who sprawled across him like a cat and reached around, plucking the food away. Flipping over, he held the stolen goods above his head, the aluminum foil sparkling like a shiny trophy. Galo laughed and bent over, pressing a kiss to his lips. Lio beamed and wrapped his arms around him, returning the kiss with fervor before pulling back and falling silent, glancing at the sandwich again.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Just thought of something.”

“Hm?”

“It’s silly.”

“I’m sure it’s not.”

“It’s just...I think the last time I was out on a hike like this, was a few years before I had my flames. My mom had packed me this huge turkey sandwich on her homemade bread, but it was so hot I couldn’t finish the damn thing.”

“Bet it was delicious, though.”

“Oh, absolutely. She’d spend hours getting it just right. Sometimes I’d help her out.” He paused and took a bite, his gaze unfocused. “I’ve been thinking a lot about that time lately. When I was younger, back before high school and well...everything else.”

Lio rarely spoke about the days before his emergence, preferring to keep those memories locked away. Such was often the case for long-term Burnish, for whom the flickers had become so integral to their identity that they regarded their former lives with detached interest, almost as if they had stemmed from another universe entirely. With most of the Burnish settling into markedly calmer lives, many were slowly being forced to confront those memories, confront who they had been and reconcile that with who they had become, who they would become.

“Are they good memories, at least?”

“Yeah, mostly.” Lio furrowed his brow, focusing intently as if he was trying to summon them to prove his point. “It’s just weird, thinking about how different it was back then. How I had nothing to really worry about. I’ve been feeling more like that lately.”

“That’s not a bad thing.”

“’I know, I just don’t know how to feel about it sometimes. I’m used to being on all the time.”

“You need time to adjust,” Galo said. “Can’t speak from experience here but you were on the run since what, sixteen? That was almost ten years ago. It’s normal for you to find it a little overwhelming, I think.”

“Yeah. You’re probably right.”

Galo took that as his cue to fall silent. It was something he had caught onto quickly – when Lio slipped into a cavern of quiet contemplation, he needed time to himself to investigate each of those treacherous routes, mapping them out in his head, before making his way back to the surface of reality. During these moments, Galo would ground him as best as he could, usually by carding his hands through Lio’s hair or rubbing small circles into his back. Today was ideal for the former, and he threaded his fingers through with gentle, practiced movements.

Eventually, Lio sat up and spoke.

“Can we keep going?”

“Of course,” Galo said.

They readied their things and continued on the hike, making their way up the lofty path. Their rest ultimately proved to be beneficial, with the two of them able to keep a steady, but relatively brisk pace. As they rose higher into the sky, the summer air tempered, giving way to a cool, invigorating breeze, giving them one last jolt of energy as they reached the top.

Shrubs and trees dotted the sparse peak, the undulating brown stones building wide, simple waves of staircases over the summit. The view was impressive, to say the least, allowing them to see a wide swath of the park below.

“Pretty, right? It gets better, though.”

“Hm?”

Lio turned around, only to realize he had been too distracted by the view to notice something else. In the middle of the mountain stood a tower about three stories high, its structure made of steel and wood. A set of stairs led up to the small lookout room at the top.

“What is it?”

“It’s an old fire lookout tower,” Galo said. “I’m not sure how much it’s used now, but I think there’s a ranger that keeps an eye on it. You want to head up?”

“Of course I do.”

Galo took his hand and they ran forward to start their final climb of the day. Tinny vibrations echoed through the tower as they made their way up the stairs, their feet clanging against the steps rhythmically. They were winded by the time they reached the landing and, finally relieved at having made it to their destination, threw their backpacks down.

The cab was about as big as their living room, with large windows lining all of the walls. A few of them had been popped out of their frames and set to the side. In one of the corners stood a compact, circular table, a discarded hiking brochure plastered to it following the recent rain.

Lio approached one of the empty window frames and leaned over, getting a better look outside. Though they had only ascended a few more stories into the air, the trees seemed far smaller than before, murmuring in their own intimate language beneath them. In one section, they gave way to what appeared to be a clearing, and then a little further beyond, the lake near where they had stationed their tent. There were other things he could see, too – flocks of birds hopping from tree to tree, the puff of smoke of another camper’s fire, the distant dot of the nearest town on the horizon, and the late morning sun, overlooking them with a bright, comforting warmth.

They were things Lio didn’t have time to notice during those rare moments up in the air; he had always been too busy, too stressed, too preoccupied with needing to get between from point A to point B to cherish those rare moments of calm when the world seemed to lull beneath him. Now that he could appreciate them, he wasn’t sure what to do with them.

Perhaps with Galo at his side, he’d figure it out.


End file.
